Newsletter No. 84
- jeanadelsman4
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Chen, Kaji and Mattucci get taken down.
Local voter guides.
Pilots facing fines.
The City Council’s three bullies got taken down at its May 5 meeting.
Mayor George Chen, District 1’s Jon Kaji and District 5’s Aurelio Mattucci were called out for their reprehensible attempt to smear District 3’s Asam Sheikh and for their threats to commissioners for failing to endorse their election bids.
District 6’s Jeremy Gerson started the extraordinary session by condemning the smear and the bullying, pointing out that the lies had been answered and that the lawsuit at the center of the smear was dismissed with prejudice. In layman’s terms, that means the lawsuit had zero merit and could not be brought back under any guise.
Gerson then went on to condemn the threats to commissioners, but he had a solution: He asked his colleagues for a concurrence to change the appointments till after the next council took office. That meant the threats could not be carried out if Chen and his slate lost.
No surprise: The Good Government 4 – District 2’s Bridgett Lewis, District 4’s Sharon Kalani and Sheikh – gave a thumbs-up to his proposal while Chen, Kaji and Mattucci sat stony-faced throughout Gerson’s presentation.
To understand the background on the smear, check out www.TakeBackTorrance.com for Newsletter No. 82. Then to learn about the history on the threat to commissioners, go back to Newsletter No. 72.
For an excellent account of the issue, watch
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/bwEReJ1I4ts?app=desktop&si=nx1MgTOhetsWFuB0. David Kartsonis, Kaji’s opponent, has once again done an outstanding job of distilling the situation in a brief video.
At the May 5 meeting, Gerson had no sooner finished than Sheikh took the mic and wasted no time referring to the online tactics of Mattucci and Kaji to spread the lies they had started. Then he read a statement prepared by the lawyer representing John Fleming. The late Fleming is at the center of the smear promulgated by Chen, Kaji and Mattucci.
Anyone who thinks there is even a smidgen of truth to the allegations should listen to what the lawyer prepared. He left no unanswered questions.
The attorney stated that the person committing elder abuse was Fleming’s daughter, Anita O’Brien, and that she had decisively lost her attempt to take over her father’s estate.
Later in the meeting, during Orals, O’Brien accused Sheikh of elder abuse and said that she was going to file her accusations with the Torrance Police Department.
When Sheikh finished reading the attorney’s statement, Mattucci berated Sheikh for accusing him of having done anything wrong. It was a bizarre scene.
As one person, who watched it play out, said to me, “Mattucci has chutzpah.” That’s Yiddish for the ultimate in gall. Or as one story goes, chutzpah is when a son murders his parents and then asks the judge for mercy because he is an orphan.
Déjà vu all over again:
Kalani is telling audiences that, if elected mayor, she will propose a Blue Ribbon Committee on Ethics.
Twenty years ago, then-Council Member Frank Scotto told voters he would establish an ethics committee if he booted out Mayor Dan Walker. He beat Walker and established the Blue Ribbon committee, which clearly needs an update.
New website:
If you are interested in data on where campaign money is coming from, check out www.TorranceWatch.org
Excellent voters guide:
Longtime readers of this newsletter know what a fan I am of www.CalMatters.org for its coverage of California government. If you are looking for information on state races, its guide is the place for everyone to start: https://calmatters.org/california-voter-guide-2026/?ref=topics-bar
How to watch the candidates:
Anyone who hasn’t marked their ballots and is just starting to research the candidates should take a look at one or more of the forums. Most of them were recorded. Here is what is available:
The League of Women Voters’ Council candidates. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BadT_y7rWY
The League of Women Voters’ mayor and treasurer candidates. https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=DzrHZgJWEAQ
The Torrance Chamber of Commerce’s mayoral and treasurer candidates: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5v5YiOAvE0E&ra=m
The North Torrance Neighborhood Assn.’s District 1 and 3 candidates forum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etAn38SqV1c
North Torrance’s treasurer candidates forum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfBfagbD7kA
North Torrance’s mayoral forum: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ulI6FB8MtA
The Riviera Homeowners Assn.-Seaside Neighborhood Assn. had a technical glitch at the beginning, so viewers will miss Michelle Brooks and Betty Lieu’s two-minute introductory remarks. This forum featured the candidates for District 5, treasurer and mayor:
The West Torance HOA and Southwood HOA co-sponsored this session: https://www.youtube.com/live/lutSQpqNfDs
Helping candidates cross the financial finishing line:
Ballots are out, and candidates are making their big push. If you want to help your favorite candidates fund their mailers, here is how to help them:
What our libraries need:
If you have thoughts on how to improve Torrance’s libraries, the City’s Community Services Department is conducting focus groups at all six libraries:
May 11. 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. at Henderson Library.
May 11. 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Geissert Civic Center Library.
May 12 11 a.m. to noon at Walteria Library.
May 12. 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Southeast Library.
May 13. 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. at North Torrance Library.
May 1. 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. at El Retiro Library.
Can’t attend any of these sessions but would like to offer input? Go to https://libraryiq.mysocialpinpoint.com/torrance-public-library-needs-assessment
SignGate:
Thanks to Susan Neimeyer for coining the phrase after an issue arose over campaign signs.
Kaji posted a photo of a couple of women carrying yard signs for Kalani and treasurer candidate Mike Griffiths. He berated them for planting the signs on public right-of-way, which they shouldn’t have done.
But his righteous indignation was too much for former Mayor Pat Furey, who shared his response online:
“I received a copy of a message posted to social media by councilman Kaji today and had to giggle. He wrote, ‘The unauthorized placement of campaign signs on private property is a violation of property rights.’ I guess he should know. Please note the 3 photos that show huge banners he and his running mates hung without permission of the property owner on SCE property on Prairie Avenue. The last photo shows the SCE property after the 4 stooges were made to remove them. It sure looks better.”
Pilots facing fines:
My thanks to Rick Taylor, who diligently blind-copies me on all his emails to City officials and staff, for his recent update on a private Facebook group that monitors Torrance Airport.
Apparently, the Noise Abatement staff has identified 1,901 potential violations during 2025’s fourth quarter and will begin this month to hold violators accountable with fines and/or hearings.
Before I go:
The City’s deadline for correspondence to be included in the Council’s pre-meeting public supplemental is 5:30 p.m. the Monday before the meeting. The Council will receive anything that comes in later before the meeting, but it won’t be posted until Wednesday. It will be at the top of the agenda.
You can also leave voicemails to be included as Oral Communications in the supplemental. Call 310-618-2404 to leave up to a two-minute recording that will be transcribed. Voicemails have the same deadlines as the emails.
Want to tell the City Council your opinion on an agenda item or address any concerns? The City has changed how to have your comments appear in an agenda item’s Staff Report. You should use the OneMeeting Public Portal at https://torranceca.primegov.com/public/portal?fromiframe=true.
Jean Adelsman
Feel free to share this email -- or tell friends about www.TakeBackTorrance.com. And if you email a response to jeanadelsman@yahoo.com, please indicate whether you are expressing a thought for my eyes only or whether I may share your comments with the whole audience.
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